Summary of Gardening Software Posts
Brian M. Chandley
For those of you shopping for a holiday present, here are posts to
this list over the last few months on the quality of software:
Well, here they are:
bpu...@aol.com wrote:
>
> I'm interested in getting a program for landscaping and all around
> gardening. Can anyone help me as to which program(s) would be my best
> bet?
The magazine Garden Design just had a review of 4-5 different garden
CD's. The general concensus was that they aren't complete and break
down (crash) often. In fact the intro stated that the reviewers
seemed
to turn cranky during the review.
I have Sierra Land Designer and am not at all happy with it. I love
computers and use them consistently in many capacities in my life and
work, but for designing a garden...I'll stick to pencil and graph
paper
for now.
Laurie Hughes
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I bought Microsoft's Comeplete Gardening, and I like it. It's
multimedia, has an extensive encyclopedia on just about everything. It
gives you suggestions on shade/sun planting for flowers, bushes,
vegetables, etc. It has a journal where you enter and save your
entries
and a shopping list. What I'm missing however would be a way to design
my own garden, shift plants or bushes if it doesn't look good, and see
my garden grow on the screen. Does this exist?
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I have the MIcrosoft CD referred to below and I have Books that Works'
"Garden Encyclopedia". Overall, I like the BTW cd significantly more
than the MS cd. Believe-it-or-not it works smoother on my PC (faster)
and has much better pictures of the plants. The only advantage of the
MS cd is it covers more plants, but in less depth. The BTW cd is
really solid and I highly recommend it. I don't do landscape design
by
computer, since I am more trial-by-error, empirical with my design, so
I can't really comment on cds for that application.
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I bought LandDesigner 3D by Sierra yesterday, and am very
disappointed.
I guess you can't go by the beautiful pictures on the package. Had
some
trouble with installation even though I have passed all the tests they
do during the install process. Overall, I found the options you work
with, i.ed. property choices, house design, etc. are very limited.
"Seeing your garden grow over the years" also limited. Doing graphics
from scratch as in designing the shape of your own house and vegetable
and flower beds is very complicated in my opinion. I did a simple
design
of a vegetable bed with only a few veggies in it; it appears as a tiny
blotch on the screen with the names of the vegetables 3 times as large
as the plants themselves. Yes, one can change the fonts apparently,
but
it wouldn't take it. Maybe I have to practice more. There are a few
sample gardens which look beautiful, but no detail as in what plants
or
shrubs are depicted in the picture. The plant encyclopedia is ok. Has
anyone anything better to add. I think I will try and return it
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I have Sierra LandDesigner 3D. I find it useful. But it's a
landscaping, not a gardening, program. In fact, I get a kick
out of the 3D part. I may find it helpful, since, unlike
some other people, I have trouble visualizing how a plant will
look until I get in the ground & see it there. Oh, the
transplantings I've done! Still, it's not perfect, & I suspect
I will use it in conjunction with graph paper. If you use this,
though, make sure you have a lot of RAM 'cause boy does it use
it up.
But for anyone else who uses this program, the instuctions state
in a couple of places that I can put a roof on the house.
I don't see a roof selection in my program. Am I missing
something in the program, or are the instructions wrong?
--Donna in Dallas
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Yes, the LandDesigner 3D lets you "grow" your garden, shift
plants, alter the size from the size you initially select (i.e.,
you can make a mature plant even larger or a small one even
smaller).
You can also walk through your landscape & see it at eye level,
you can look up & look through the trees, you can look down
at your garden on the ground. You can also "fly" around your
landscape with a birdseye view. It has a plant encyclopedia
with it, garden & landscape plans, and a shopping list. You
can select pre-formed garden areas, walkways, etc., or you
can draw your own. You can select different types of basic
homes to put on your property, but very few selections as to
doors & windows (I can't find the roofs, so I guess that's
not included) -- but that's because this is a landscape
design program, not a house design, I guess..
It cost me about $50, I think. And it was worth it to me. I
love it! Still, I will end up using graph paper, too.
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I picked up Sierra LandDesigner in the bargain bin at Office Depot
for $9.99. For that price, it's a steal. I don't know if I would
like
it as much had I paid full price, but it's plenty useful.
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I've had fun with 3-D Landscaping by Books that Work. It does show
light
and shadows at different times of the day and seasons of the year. The
only drawback is that it only provides woody plants in its library; I
do
a lot with perennials and found that gap rather frustrating.
Hope this is useful.
karin
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I also have 3-D Landscape... supposedly the best out. I'm not
satisfied
with it... very basic info, and takes a long time to construct.
MNRat
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I bought 3-D Landscape and I am also disatisfied... This and that
problems about
putting in my existing house and yard (like dimension lines that
obscure the
dimensions!), but the big disapointment was the 3-D
rendering. I wanted to see what my efforts would look like with the
software before
I did them. The software couldn't get walkways, patios and driveways
displayed
correctly so I couldn't tell what my new layout really looked like.
Also, the trees seem to grow rather more quickly than in real life.
(Also beyond
their max width/height I might add.)
When I tried to use the library to pick new shrubs and trees I seemed
to frequently
get the same pictures for different varieties. I'm not sure it this is
because the
plant looks basically the same (so why get another picture) or if it
is because they
did not have a proper picture.
I wanted to use the software to record information about trees and
shrubs planted,
like "fertilized today with 21-0-0 " or some such. There is scant
space for such
info.
In all, the software does ok to get a yard in the computer and allow
you to
place plants in the yard, but stops short of being really useful. (I
couldn't even
figure out how to get the yard printed with dimensions showing so I
could walk
around outside and check things.)
A really good feature is the ability to add a plant (not already in
the software's
database) to the database. You put in the names and sizes and the
basic shape of
the plant and the software will then allow you plant your yard with
the new item.
I found most of my plants in the existing library: maybe 60 %. I added
the rest
using the nifty feature.
Really though, if this is the best software, then I recommend a pencil
and paper.
(Just my 2 cents worth :)
--
John Bordovsky
jo...@austin.ibm.com
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I bought LandDesigner 3D (by Sierra) about 6 months ago. The software
is
adequate, but not great. A frustrating "problem" with software is that
although it can render sloped ground, unfortunately it "averages"
slope.
If an area was 3 feet higher than the area next to it, then it would
be
shown as:
\ ___
\ rather than |
\ |____
The software also cannot create walls, steps, or textured surfaces.
(What landscape doesn't have these !?!)
There is a new product out by Softkey International called "Landscape
Architect". They don't have any info regarding it on their web page !
It looks promising from the box, however I know that boxes can be
deceiving. ;-) The software has the ability to export JPEGs and
create
AVI's of a "walkthough" of the garden plan. As you create your 2D
plan,
it renders a 3D plan simultaneously in a different window. The
rendering
looks superior to LandDesigner 3D. I'm not sure if the library of
plant
symbols can be expanded. (It does NOT have an encyclopedia, as
LandDesigner 3D does.) I have therefore emailed Softkey, and asked
them
the following ...
[1] Is is possible to edit the 2D or 3D rendering of a plant, or its'
name, height, width, etc. and save it to a gallery under a different
name. The hope is to be able to expand the galley by adding "new
plants" to it.
[2] It seems that it is possible to edit a generic house that has been
selected from a gallery or library. Doors, windows, etc. can be added,
but can a house be built from the "ground up" - individual rooms or
wings, roof, etc. ? If a house CAN be built this way, then can plants
be created this way too ?
[3] Is it possible to define ground elevation, and thus slope ? Is
this properly rendered in 3D ? What are the highest and lowest
elevations that are possible (relative to each other) ? What is the
greatest resolution (example: 6" x 6" or 1 ft. x 1 ft. squares) for
areas of differing elevation ?
[4] What is the greatest resolution of a 3D rendering (pixels or
cells) ? Using your product, is it possible to add sound to an AVI
file of a "walkthrough".
When I get answers, I post their response back to this newsgroup ...
Happy Gardening,
- David Lewis
--
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
* David Lewis email: dle...@islandnet.com *
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Garden Gate magazine just published a review of PC and MAC gardening
software. It is a list of products, functionality and cost and
usefulness for different tasks. Their website publishes old articles
and reveiews. This may show up ther in a few months.
They are at: http://www.augusthome.com/gardeng.htm
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Try 3d Landscape from Books that Work. It allows you to walk through
your
finished garden and is easy to use. (Hope you haven't already had
this
question answered a zillion times!
Steve
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Sunset Western Garden CD-ROM, approx. retail $35.00 - 40.00 is good.
Best one I've found yet: Flower Gardening by Expert Software, got on
sale at CompUSA for $4.99 (what a great program and a great buy!)
"Sleepless in Seattle"
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I have a CD ROM program called LandDesigner, Multi-Media for Gardens.
I think it cost around $50.00. It helps you create landscape designs,
provides many color images of popular plants, and has an audio track
that teaches you how to pronouce plant names.
I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who lives within the scope of the
Sunset zones (the Sunset Western Garden CD ROM is much better, even
if they only show one image per genus), but if you're not in the
Sunset
zones, it might work for you.
Definitely ask nursery workers which program they would recommend.
$35-50.00 can be quite an investment to some, especially to those who
would rather buy bulbs!! :)
-Rosminah
Sunset Zone 24
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There's Sprout! available from Abrocadata. Haven't used it, but I
downloaded a demo of it from the following:
Let's us know if you buy it, how it works, etc.
Pat,
Not affiliated with Abracadata
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Try Sunset's Western Garden CD-ROM if you live in the Western part of
the U.S., or Expert Software's Flower Gardening CD-ROM (which costs
less, but is better, I believe).
Good luck!
--"Sleepless in Seattle"
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